Bach plant gets new leader

Striking workers pleased with choice for director

Striking workers pleased with choice for director

September 29, 2006|ED RONCO Tribune Staff Writer

ELKHART -- There's a new guy in charge at the Vincent Bach musical instruments factory here, and union workers approaching their sixth month on the picket line say they couldn't be happier. Tedd Waggoner has been named the director of operations at the Vincent Bach plant, the company said Wednesday. Conn-Selmer, Bach's parent company, did not specify the reason for the change. In taking the job, Waggoner inherits a plant -- and possibly a work force -- made weary by the effects of a half-year long strike. Workers, represented by United Auto Workers Local 364, have been on strike since April 1. The plant has continued to operate with supervisors and replacement workers. When and if the dispute is settled, it will be Waggoner's responsibility to transition workers back onto the job and get the plant back to its full capacity. He will replace Mike Hall, whom many striking union members pointed to as a primary reason for their unhappiness on the shop floor. Hall, who is still with the company, but in a different position, was frequently ridiculed by union members on the picket line -- both verbally and in signs dotting the lawn in front of the plant at 500 Industrial Parkway in Elkhart. Union member Randy Morris hadn't heard about the change in leadership until another striking worker told him Thursday afternoon that Waggoner is the new boss. His eyes lit up. "How about that?" he said. "There's good news." Waggoner, who started on the job immediately after the announcement, has been with Conn-Selmer in Elkhart since 1972. He was most recently director of marketing for the company's brasswind instrument lines. He earns credibility points with workers not only because of his veteran status in the industry but also because he's a musician, said union member Joe Schultz. "I think the right man's got the job now," he said. "He knows what he's talking about when he says stuff." Waggoner, who lives in Mishawaka, plays trumpet and works with musicians around the world, conducting educational clinics, the company said. Union workers said this change means that when and if the dispute with the company is settled, returning to the shop floor will be all the sweeter. "We used to say 'Tedd for president,'" said Barb Havens, who worked for Bach 27 years before the strike. "He could save this place." The whole mood of the picket line has changed since the announcement, Havens said, not just because Hall left, but also because Waggoner's now in charge. "He's one of us," she said. "That's why we trust him. And that's what we need." Staff writer Ed Ronco: eronco@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6467